


Enchantment

by Craig2016



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Love, Gen, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24070345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Craig2016/pseuds/Craig2016
Summary: Just some Peter / Edmund brotherly love with a load of whump thrown in.
Relationships: Edmund Pevensie & Peter Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie/Eustace Scrubb
Comments: 9
Kudos: 21





	Enchantment

He wanted so much to close his eyes and rid himself of the deeper pain he was feeling. But he didn't.

He chose to gaze into his older brother's impassive face as he unknowingly inflicted torment. He wanted to savor the last bittersweet moments wherein he could at least see Peter. As the whip repeatedly cracked on his broken body, he bit his lip to hold back his screams of anguish. 

Edmund was being held up by an ogre and a hag, not uncruelly. Jadis stood at the side, controlling Peter's mind and body like a puppeteer. Lost in blood-lust and revenge, she flicked her restored wand and sent Edmund crashing into the stone wall. 

Peter looked blankly at the gasping and shuddering prisoner at his feet. He watched as Edmund clutched his mangled shoulder, struggling to breathe. The prisoner’s pale chest and back sported several gashes and welts from his flogging and the ogre's previous abuses. His dark hair was matted with sweat--his body a mess of dirt and blood. Blood trickled the side of his face from a deep gash across his cheek. 

Peter stood transfixed as the blood flowed freely, obscuring the freckles on the younger’s pale face. His fingers loosened its hold on the whip. His line of vision shifted from the trickle of blood and right into Edmund's eyes. He took in a sharp breath. The prisoner’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. In their depths, clearly reflected was an acceptance of fate… 

And something else… There was something else. Peter couldn’t quite place it… His head suddenly felt so heavy. The smell of copper made him want to retch. His throat was burning; his heart started thumping wildly against his ribs. The captive continued to hold his gaze. The blood dripped. The seconds ticked. 

Terribly weakened and to the point of death, Edmund nodded his head a fraction of an inch. He closed his eyes and took in several shallow breaths, blood spurting from his mouth in torrents all the while. Broken ribs. When he opened his eyes again, he looked straight at Peter and gasped, 

“Agape, brother. Till we meet again.”

Peter suddenly found that his eyes were brimming with tears.

Before he could react, the connection was broken. Edmund screamed in pain as he was hauled upright by the two fell creatures. 

“How very touching. Agape, that is. Too bad it can’t save your sorry, what is it, arse?” Jadis mocked. She went closer to Edmund and traced an icy finger against the gash on his cheek. She brought her finger to her lips and tasted the blood. 

“Ah. Sweet. How uncommon for a traitor’s blood.” Eyes flashing, the White Witch lifted her hand in mid-air and appeared to close her fist around something none of them could see.

Peter whipped around as a wild cry reached his ears.

Both the hag and the ogre had let Edmund go. He was on his knees, violently convulsing and clutching his chest. 

Horrified, Peter looked at Jadis just as she tightened her fist till her knuckles were deathly white.

Edmund choked on the little air that he was able to draw in, the pain in his abused heart rendering him boneless. He collapsed on his back completely, hitting his head against the cold stone floor, making him almost lose consciousness. Tears leaked at the corners of his eyes which were squeezed shut in sheer agony. When he opened them again, the dark orbs had lost their luster. His lips parted in a silent plea. 

No!

At the last second, Jadis let go.

Jadis’ face split in a demonic leer. "What’s that, Peter?" 

Something flickered in his eyes at the sound of his name. 

Peter.

Peter.

He looked back into the now glassy depths of the captive's eyes. Edmund’s chest was heaving with exertion and the skin on his chest was turning black and blue. For a split second, their eyes met again—brown and blue—and suddenly Peter understood.

Love.

It was love that he had seen in the younger boy’s eyes. Unconditional, forgiving, and absolute. 

Everything came pounding back to him in a flash. 

But he had to continue to feign enchantment if he was to get his brother out of there alive. He had to act quickly.

“No, my Queen. I’ll have the pleasure of doing that with my own hands.” Peter said, his face devoid of emotion. A stark contrast to the frantic ruckus his heart was doing within his ribcage.

“Ah. The Little King wants to play with his toys.” Jadis laughed gleefully. “Go on, then. Enjoy yourself. Call me when you’re about to end it. I want to see that glorious moment: the destruction of our kingdom’s final threat.”

And she disappeared in a cloud of icy mist.

The ogre and hag were left behind. And dealt with quickly. In one swift movement, the High King had both their heads rolling on the floor.

**Author's Note:**

> In his classic treatise on the topic of love and Christianity, “The Four Loves,” C.S. Lewis identified unconditional love as agape. This word was borrowed from the Greek word for “charity” or the “love of a parent for a child.” In biblical texts originally written in Greek, the word agape is used to connote any kind of selfless love, whether between human beings or between humans and God.


End file.
